Thread: Does your shave last longer with a straight than with other methods?

The shave will last longer....only if you know what your doing. I am not at that point yet hope to someday.

Someone way back at the beginning of this thread posed the question of what if someone used a cartridge with proper preparation. I had the boring experience of that recently so I can comment on that plus my time to stubble from other razors.

Mach 3, can of goo, one pass shave, no aftershave, no preshave face hotwater, just wake up and shave (for way too many years) - time to stubble 10 hours
Straight razor, puck soap, 3 pass shave, aftershave - time to stubble 18 hours
DE, puck soap, 3 pass shave, aftershave - time to stubble 17 hours
and surprisingly to me
Mach 3, puck soap, 3 pass shave, aftershave - time to stubble 18 hours

So at least for me and my technique the cartridge, straight, and DE with good soap, preshave preparation, and post shave treatment all 3 of them are about the same for lasting until stubble.

I will also say for me:
The Mach 3 is a faster shave than the DE and the DE was faster than the straight.
The straight is the most comfortable shave followed by the Mach 3 followed by the DE.
The straight is the most enjoyable shave followed by the DE followed by the Mach 3.

As always YMMV

Just another theory...

Could skin tension/stretching be a factor in the closeness of the straight razor shave?

Once I got past the 100+ shave mark I (and SWMBO) noted that the "5 O'clock shadow" that used to show up by 4PM did not appear until late in the evening.

Noticed recently that when I travel with a Cart (shudder) but also now a stick of Tabac and a 1305, (Hat tip Birnando) and I also stretch out of habit...getting a longer lasting shave - not as long as a Straight, but longer.

Roberts "squeegee effect" theory makes sense, prep & lather provide the cushion and glide and stretching keeps us out of the Emergency Room along with arranging for the edge to hair contact to be as low as possible.

I know it's closer 'cause SWMBO says so.
Why is probably a basket of reasons that I am happy to continue to explore.

Smooth, and close, shaving...

This is what I notice. Compared to right after I finish, my straight shave feels closer 1/2 to 1 hour after I'm done.

Originally Posted by Birnando

You might experience a straight shave to last longer, but that has nothing to do with the edge.
It has to do with the quality of the prep.
Properly prepped you will swell the strands of hair to the maximum extent.
That will make the shave feel very close when the strands dry back to normal.

What is being discussed here is actually how I measure the quality of my efforts, that is, with straights. Having long since switched to night shaving for a more leisurely experience, I find that the feel of the next mornings new growth is a better barometer of shave closeness than I get immediately after the shave.

As I am in a constant state of experimentation with, say, a razor finished on a natural one night and one finished on a synthetic the next night, with different stropping thrown in the mix (cowhide vs horse) I daily use the morning after feel as my most consistent feedback source as the differences are definite, pronounced and obvious.

The care I take with a straight ensures that the shave last longer, I think. I got close to that with a DE. Never with a cartridge. I love that I can control the sharpness with a straight too. I suspect that there's a layer of skin removal in the mix too but am prepared to shot down in flames one that.

Nothing beats my Futur. My Mastro Livi 6/8 straight is a close second. I prep the same for both.

To me it's no my beard grown really fast even if i use a traditional straight, shavette, DE or SE the next morning i have to shave. I have to admit that the traditional straight gave me the best shave compare to all other methods(shavette, DE and SE), the quality of the shave is at is best whit the straight. Gino

I was having a great time using my 2x Sedef razors fo a few months,comfortable and close,and then i noticed stubble forming one evening,and decided i was not getting close enough,so i went back to my straights problem solved.I am confused why i did so well with the Sedefs for so long.It might be total nonsense but i believe the skin adapts to the straight,and that was what gave me the good performance on the Sedef shavettes A straight gives me 24 hours after a shave,a shavette some short stubble after 14 hours.With any shavette you have to sort of glide over the skin,a litle less so with a straight but still with short strokes.I suppose the bottom line is,its down to the skill of the operater and personal preferences,the mind plays tricks and you believe what you want to believe.

I find that straight razors give the closest shave and if done correctly, i.e. face prep, quality soap or cream and properly honed razor, it is the most comfortable. I also do not get ingrown hairs with a straight. Definitely less irritation. The closest razor to a straight is my Mongoose SE. I found using my Feather shavettes to irritate my face much more then my straights.